Elementary Love
by xAoneko
Summary: A series of short stories about the STARISH boys, from elementary school to high school. TokiyaxOtoya, RenxMasato, NatsukixSyo
1. The Story of Ittoki Otoya I

**The Story of Ittoki Otoya I**

Just by looking at him, it was difficult to tell that Ittoki Otoya suffered from bullying at school. He always had a smile on his face in public and practically radiated happiness every day. But nobody was perfect, and even Otoya had a few things that other people, especially his fellow elementary school classmates, would tease him about.

They would tease him occasionally when he did something embarrassing, like when he fell asleep in class or if he tripped over something and fell flat on his face. Luckily for Otoya, those remarks died quickly as people forgot and moved on. However, there was one thing that stuck with Otoya and brought him a lot of pain.

It was the fact that Otoya was adopted.

None of the children remembered who first found out that the boy was adopted, but all Otoya knew was that one day, a trio of boys began to bully him because his parents were not related to him by blood. The three bullies would sneer at him when they passed him in the hallways, and if no one else was nearby, they would throw hurtful jibes at him and laugh cruelly as Otoya struggled to keep up his happy facade.

Today was one of those days where Otoya was unfortunate to run into the bullies after school. The redhead was just walking out to the playground where all the kids were waiting for their parents to pick them up when Ootori Eiichi and his gang stopped him in an empty hallway.

Eiichi's mouth curled up in a cruel smirk. "So, have you found out why your parents left you yet?"

The shorter boy with pale hair and gray eyes next to him scoffed. "I thought it was obvious. How can anyone stand being around him? He's annoying."

The third boy leaned against the wall, black hair partially covering face. He gazed out a nearby window with gold eyes, apparently uninterested in the scene.

Eiichi laughed. "Maybe that's why, Nagi, but give Ittoki a chance to explain. Unless he still doesn't know?" The taunt was obvious in the brown-haired boy's tone.

Otoya clenched his hands into fists as he struggled to suppress the wave of emotions that rose in his chest. He would not give the three of them the satisfaction of seeing him cry. "Why can't you just leave me alone? What did I ever do to you?"

Nagi snickered. "We have to make sure annoying people like you stay away from other people."

"Of course." Eiichi ran a hand through his hair. "Seriously, people like you should give up already. Not even your parents wanted you."

Those last words threatened to break the dam that blocked all of Otoya's emotions. Did his parents really end up in a car accident because they didn't want him anymore? What if they didn't die at all? What if they were actually still alive somewhere, not even caring about the son who ended up in the orphanage several years ago?

The wall that Otoya had built was crumbling. His eyes grew wet as tears welled up, and he couldn't stop them this time. He hated Eiichi and Nagi for making him feel this way, and hated himself for letting their words affect him. At last, the bullies would get the satisfaction of seeing him break down.

"What are you doing?"

Eiichi and Nagi whipped around, eyes narrowing at the two new arrivals. The black-haired boy's expression didn't change as he tilted his head slightly. Otoya blinked through the tears in his eyes to see the two who were walking their way.

The two boys looked identical with navy-blue hair that stuck out at the ends and sea-blue eyes. They were at the same height, and had similar looks of anger on their faces. Otoya probably would have gawked at them more if he wasn't in such a serious situation.

One of the twins stood directly in front of Otoya, blocking him from the bullies' view. They were both slightly taller than the redhead, effective creating a wall between him and the trio.

"What have you done?" The one that stood next to the twin in front of Otoya snapped at Eiichi and Nagi.

"We were just talking, that's all." Nagi sniffed disdainfully, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"If you were just talking, then why is he about to cry?"

"Who knows?" Eiichi waved his hand dismissively. "He just started crying out of nowhere. Probably remembered that he was dumped by his parents."

The twins' eyes narrowed simultaneously. "Just leave, Eiichi!" the same twin spat, "You make me sick!"

Eiichi growled. "That's my line, Ichinose. Don't think this is over." With that, he turned and stomped away, followed by Nagi and the black-haired boy. Golden eyes glanced at Otoya almost apologetically before the boy turned his head and walked away.

"Ahhhh! He makes me so angry!" The twin who had done all the talking ran a hand through his messy hair. The other, who had been silent, turned to face Otoya. The redhead kept his head bowed, not wanting them to see the tears that were running down his cheeks.

A gentle hand patted him on the head, softly ruffling Otoya's red locks. One of them asked if he was okay, and Otoya completely lost it.

He grabbed the nearest twin in a suffocating hug, buried his face in the cotton shirt, and bawled his eyes out. The person in his arms stiffened at first but gradually relaxed and hugged him back, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Someone else was murmuring comforting words, and a sense of reassurance settled in Otoya's mind.

Even though the twins were complete strangers to him, Otoya felt completely safe under the protective embrace and consoling words.


	2. The Story of Ittoki Otoya II

**Many thanks to those who followed/favorited/reviewed for the first chapter of this work. I present to you the second chapter of Otoya's story. Enjoy!**

 _Italics-_ thoughts/flashbacks

* * *

 **The Story of Ittoki Otoya II**

Otoya didn't see the twins again for the next few days, and Eiichi and Nagi left him mostly alone, only shooting him nasty glares when they passed him in the halls. No one except Otoya and the twins knew that the happy redhead had cried so hard that he almost couldn't breathe a couple days ago.

Now that Otoya wasn't falling to pieces, he felt overwhelming embarrassment at the fact that he had just grabbed a stranger and wept like a baby. He wasn't sure which was worse: him ruining someone else's shirt with tears and snot or someone he didn't know seeing him at his worst.

Otoya blushed as he thought back to that day and quickly covered his face with his hands when a couple students gave him curious looks. ' _Aahhhh, stop thinking about that_ ,' the redhead mentally scolded himself. However, his brain was in a rebellious mood since the memory of what happened after Otoya stopped crying surfaced.

 _"Um, I'm sorry," Otoya muttered when he felt like he could talk again. He rubbed away the last few tears that were trailing down his face, keeping his gaze fixed on his shoes as he stepped away from the person that he had been squeezing the life out of a few seconds ago._

 _"Don't worry about it," the twin who had been yelling at Eiichi's gang said kindly, "You don't have to hold it in all the time. If you want to cry, just cry. Bottling it up isn't good for you."_

 _Otoya looked up. The boy smiled at him and turned to the other navy-haired boy, who had been silent the entire time. "Hey, Tokiya, what time is it?"_

 _His twin looked at the watch that was around his wrist. "3:45," he said, his voice carrying a calmer tone than the other boy._

 _"Ah, we have to go then. Mom is probably waiting for us." The boy turned back to Otoya. "We'll see you around some time. If Eiichi and Nagi bother you again, don't be afraid to ask us for help."_

 _The twins turned to leave. "W-Wait!" Otoya called before he could stop himself. They stopped and looked at him expectantly. Otoya flushed slightly and opened and closed his mouth a few times like a fish. Then he awkwardly bowed to them. "Thank you for your help!" he practically shouted from embarrassment. "A-And I'm sorry for ruining your shirt. If there's anything I can do…"_

 _"It's fine," Tokiya interrupted._

 _"B-But…!"_

 _"I never really liked this shirt anyway." Tokiya's mouth curled upwards in a faint smile. "Don't worry about it."_

Otoya shook his head furiously to dispel the thoughts, but his fading blush had returned at the memory of Tokiya's smile. ' _What? Why am I blushing?'_ He rubbed at his cheeks, hoping to make the blush go away. When it finally disappeared, the redhead rejoined the flood of students walking out to the playground where their parents were waiting to pick them up.

As he stepped out of the school, Otoya froze. Standing by the gate in front of him was Tokiya, calming chatting with an orange-haired boy. The redhead stood there in surprise for a few seconds with his mouth hanging partially open.

Suddenly, two hands landed on his shoulders, snapping him out of his state of shock. Otoya jumped and yelped, whirling around to see...another Tokiya?

No, this was Tokiya's twin. Otoya didn't know his name, but the boy obviously recognized the redhead judging by the giant smile on his face.

"Ah, sorry. Did I scare you, nya?" The boy laughed apologetically. Otoya blinked at the other's words.

"Oh, it's okay. I wasn't expecting you." He rubbed the back of his head, ruffling the messy red spikes. Was this guy secretly a cat? Otoya had never met a person who said 'nya' before, and he was pretty sure that only cats said that. Did that mean Tokiya was a cat, too?

"I realized I didn't tell you my names a few days ago." The boy held out his right hand. "I'm Hayato, nya. Ichinose Hayato."

Otoya shook his hand politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ittoki Otoya."

Hayato grinned and began pulling Otoya towards the gate. Tokiya and the orange-haired boy paused in their conversation as they watched the shy redhead get dragged over by Tokiya's identical twin.

"Tokiya, Ren, this is Ittoki Otoya!" Hayato happily introduced. "Otoya, this is my brother Tokiya and our friend Jinguuji Ren."

"Nice ta meet ya, Ikki." Ren waved casually with a smirk on his face. ' _Ikki?_ ' Otoya repeated to himself as he returned the greeting.

"Is there someone waiting to pick you up, Otoya?" Hayato asked.

"Ah, yes." Otoya looked around. "He should be here soon…"

"Otoyan!"

A tall, brown-haired teenage boy approached the group of boys. "Rei-chan!" Otoya called enthusiastically.

The teenager grinned at them. "Are these your friends, Otoyan? You should introduce me!"

"Okay," Otoya agreed cheerfully. He pointed to the teenager and said proudly, "This is Rei-chan. He's my babysitter since my parents have to work so I'm not alone in the house."

'Rei-chan' laughed and added, "My full name is Kotobuki Reiji, but you can call me Rei-chan."

"Are you in high school, nya?" Hayato blurted out, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Ren looked mildly curious while Tokiya's gaze flickered between Reiji and Otoya.

"Yup. I'm in my last year of high school," Reiji confirmed.

"So cool..." Hayato gazed at Reiji with admiration while Ren and Tokiya kept up impressive poker faces.

"Are you ready to go, Otoyan?" Reiji asked the redhead, "Do you have everything?"

"Yeah." Otoya nodded. "See you guys around." He waved goodbye to Hayato, Ren, and Tokiya. They answered with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Bye-bye, Otoya!"

"See ya, Ikki."

"See you." Otoya's red eyes met Tokiya's blue ones and the redhead quickly turned around and walked away as fast as he could in order to hide the redness that was creeping up his face. Reiji followed after Otoya, calling for the elementary school boy to slow down and wait for the brown-haired teenager.

* * *

The next day...

Otoya stood on his toes and stretched as far as he could, but his fingers just brushed the book that sat innocently on the shelf. He groaned in frustration and turned to find something that he could stand on, but someone reached past him and slid the book off the shelf.

"Here." Tokiya held the book out.

"Thank you." Otoya hesitantly accepted the book as Tokiya reached back up the shelf. "Do you come here often?"

"At least once a week," Tokiya answered as he skimmed through the book he had picked out, "I usually come here on Fridays."

"Really?" Otoya brightened. "I come here every Friday to wait for my mom to pick me up."

"Wait for your mom?" Tokiya repeated, looking at the redhead curiously, "Why doesn't Kotobuki-san walk you home?"

"Oh, that's 'cause Rei-chan has to practice with his band on Fridays, so he doesn't have time to come get me."

"So you wait here alone?"

"Well, there's still the librarian and the other kids who stay behind…" Otoya's voice trailed off to a mumble as Tokiya stared at him doubtfully, "And there are a lot of books that I can read while I wait, so it's okay."

Truthfully, it was not okay at all. Otoya was never really interested in most of the books in the library. Most of the time, he would end up spacing out and his thoughts would wander. When that happened, he would sometimes think about his real parents, and that made him feel lonely. Otoya hated being alone above all else.

Neither he nor Tokiya spoke for a while as the latter finished flipping through the book in his hands. Then he snapped the book shut and turned to face Otoya.

"Want to come over?"

"Huh?" Otoya gaped in surprise. "Oh, no. I don't want to intrude!"

Tokiya reached over and grabbed Otoya by the wrist. "You're not intruding. Besides, you don't have to be alone this way." He pulled the redhead over to the check-out counter.

Any protests that Otoya had died in his throat. Everyone else had always assumed that he was happy because he was always putting on a smiling face. ' _How do you know what I'm really feeling?'_ Otoya wondered as he silently watched Tokiya check out their books.

Once the books were properly checked out, Tokiya led the way down to the front gate where Hayato and a woman were waiting. The woman had pretty blue hair that flowed down to her waist and blue eyes. Otoya guessed that she was Hayato's and Tokiya's mother since the three had the same eyes and face, although her hair was a lighter blue than her sons'.

"Mom, can Otoya come over today?" Tokiya asked.

"Eh? Are his parents okay with that?" Both Hayato and the woman looked mildly surprised at Tokiya's sudden question.

"We haven't asked yet. Can you call?"

"Then how about we walk home and I can give them a call," she suggested, "Is that okay with you, Otoya-kun?"

"Y-Yes. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to intrude," Otoya apologized, bowing slightly to her.

"Oh, no, we'd love to have you over." She smiled gently and reassuringly. _'Like Tokiya,'_ Otoya mentally noted. "Tokiya has never asked to bring a friend home before, so I look forward to talking to the boy who broke him out of his shell."

"Mom!" Tokiya yelled indignantly as a faint blush colored his cheeks. His mother laughed as she ushered the three boys through the gate. Otoya briefly wondered if Tokiya's laugh was like his mother's too.


	3. The Story of Ittoki Otoya III

**We'll be taking a break from Otoya's story after this chapter. Next chapter will be featuring Jinguuji Ren.  
Thanks to those who favorited/followed/reviewed! Love you all~!**

* * *

 **The Story of Ittoki Otoya III**

"This is our room, nya!" Hayato proudly announced, holding his arms out in a 'welcome' gesture. Otoya followed him inside, red eyes wide as he surveyed the small room. A bed large enough for two children was pushed into the corner. Two desks were placed next to the window, separated by a small dresser. In the corner opposite of the bed, two tall shelves stood upright. One shelf was filled with several different kinds of books; some titles included kanji that Otoya didn't recognized. The other shelf had a CD player and held tons of CDs.

"You guys have a nice room," Otoya whispered in awe.

"No, not really," Tokiya and Hayato said at the same time.

Otoya peered at the collection of music on the shelf. "You have a lot of music here. Do you collect?"

"Yeah," the twins said together again. Hayato continued to talk while Tokiya took their bags and placed on the floor by the door. "Every year on our birthday and on Christmas, Mom buys us two CDs. Tokiya and I would each pick one CD that we both like, nya."

"Really? When's your birthday? Mine is April eleventh."

"We were born on August ninth. I'm older by a few minutes, nya." Hayato grinned, pointing to himself.

"You act like you're several years younger though," Tokiya muttered.

"Ehhhh? So mean, Tokiya!" Hayato pouted, eyes welling up with fake tears as he stared sadly at his younger brother.

Tokiya grumbled something about his point being proven and grabbed a book off the shelf. He sat down on the bed and was immediately tackled by Hayato. The book fell to the floor as the older twin poked at Tokiya's waist.

"What are you...stop it, Nii-san!" Tokiya squirmed and tried to move away, but Hayato pulled him back and continued to mercilessly tickle him.

"Not until you apologize, nya!" Hayato shouted gleefully. Otoya couldn't help but laugh as he watched the twins tussle.

The door to the room opened and the twins' mother came in, holding a tray that had three glasses of juice and a plate of cookies balanced on it. Ichinose Sayako shot her sons a look as she placed the tray on one of the desks near the window. Hayato quickly got off Tokiya and the two of them straightened their clothes and sat there innocently. Otoya covered his mouth with one hand to hide his laughter.

"What are you laughing at?" Tokiya mumbled, still a little out of breath from trying to fight off his brother. Hayato made an odd choking noise as he tried to force back a snicker. Soon, he and Otoya were doubled over in laughter while Sayako and Tokiya watched in amusement.

"Ittoki-kun, I've called your parents, and they said it's fine for you to stay. I'll be downstairs if you boys need anything," Sayako said. She turned to Otoya and patted his hair. "Don't be afraid to ask, Ittoki-kun."

"Thank you for letting me stay over," Otoya chirped as she left the boys alone.

Hayato pushed the plate of cookies towards Otoya. "Have you ever had homemade cookies, Otoya?"

Otoya shook his head as he reached for a cookie. "No, my mom is usually too tired to bake. Even if she does, she makes little cakes." He took a small bite out of the cookie and chewed slowly.

The twins watched as Otoya swallowed. "How is it, nya?" Both of them blinked when the redhead shoved the rest of the cookie into his mouth whole, cheeks bulging like a chipmunk's.

"It's so good!" Otoya mumbled around the mouthful of cookie. There was a look of complete bliss on his face as he savored the semi-sweet snack.

"Eat as much as you like," Hayato encouraged, "I'm sure Mom wouldn't mind making some for you to take home, nya."

The doorbell suddenly rang. The three boys heard Sayako's footsteps as she went to answer the door. She spoke with someone and then called for the three of them. "Tokiya, your friend is here to see you!"

The three of them headed downstairs to see an orange-haired boy standing in the doorway with a CD held in his hands. "Yo, Icchi, Haya-tan." Ren nodded casually. "Oh, Ikki's here too?"

"He's here until his parents come pick him up, nya," Hayato explained as Otoya greeted Ren.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm here to return the CD you let me borrow earlier this week. Here you go, Haya-tan." Ren held out the case to Tokiya.

"I'm Tokiya," the navy-haired boy replied bluntly as he accepted the disk. "That's Hayato." He pointed to his brother.

"My bad, my bad." Ren waved a hand in apology. "You two look identical. It can be hard to tell sometimes." He said goodbye and headed down the street.

Tokiya shut the door and they headed back upstairs. Once they were back in the twins' bedroom, Otoya asked, "Does Ren like music as much as you guys?"

"Well, he borrows our CDs a lot, nya," Hayato said thoughtfully, "I would say that he does."

"Music class is the only class he takes seriously," Tokiya added as he placed the CD back on the shelf, "He told me that it's the only class he would never skip out on."

"He skips classes?" Otoya repeated, slightly alarmed. "Won't his parents get mad?"

Tokiya and Hayato shrugged. "Don't know," they answered in unison. Hayato continued, "We've never bothered asking since it's not really our business, nya." He looked like he wanted to add something, but the front door opened as someone entered the house.

"I'm home," a deep male voice called.

The twins froze: Tokiya in the middle of turning a page in his book and Hayato with his mouth half-open. They exchanged unreadable looks as Otoya stood there with a baffled look on his face.

"I didn't know Father was coming home today," Tokiya whispered lowly.

"Me neither, nya!" Hayato sounded nervous.

"Um, is something wrong?" Otoya hesitantly asked.

Both twins swiveled their heads to look at him. Hayato grabbed him by the shoulders. "Listen, Otoya," he said urgently, "The person you're about to meet is really strict, and he can say mean things sometimes. Just...don't take him too seriously, okay?"

"Okay...?"

They heard Sayako calling for them to come downstairs. "Don't say anything out of line either, alright, nya? And try to talk as little as possible," Hayato quickly added as they walked down the stairs. Otoya nodded in confused agreement. They turned into the living room and the red-haired guest paused.

A man who looked to be in his late-twenties was sitting at the table. He had messy black hair that curled up slightly at the ends and cold gray eyes that narrowed as they landed on Otoya.

"Who is this?" His voice betrayed no emotion except disapproval, as though Otoya's presence in the house had offended him somehow.

"I'm Ittoki Otoya. N-Nice to meet you." The redhead bowed nervously as he silently freaked out. _Did I mess up on introducing myself? Did I do something to offend him? Maybe I had cookie crumbs on my face and he didn't like that...no, I'm sure my face is clean. Then why is he glaring at me like my next-door neighbor did when I accidentally broke her window with a soccer ball?_

"Ichinose Shirou. Pleasure." The twins' father sounded as though the meeting was anything but a pleasure.

Otoya paled slightly at the cold indifference that Ichinose Shirou exuded. _Where did I go wrong?_


	4. The Story of Jinguuji Ren I

**Wow, this was a quick update. I actually had some of this chapter done when I published the third part of Otoya's story. Now, it's time to take a break from Otoya and take a look at what Ren's up to!**

 **I forgot to mention this: Ren is a fifth grader, Tokiya and Hayato are third graders, and Otoya is a second grader. I'll be sure to say something if there's a time skip and their ages change.**

* * *

 **The Story of Jinguuji Ren I**

Jinguuji Ren hated going to school.

Nothing interesting ever happened in his classes, and to make matters worse, there seemed to be girls fawning over him no matter where he went. He would catch them staring at him during class, and some were creepy enough to follow him from class to class. This, combined with the fact that Ren was always bored, led him to skip class a couple times every week.

But the one class he never skipped was music class.

No matter what happened or how many girls stalked him that day, the orange-haired boy always showed up in the music room. He paid attention whenever the teacher spoke and actually made an effort when asked to sing. When he sang, he entered his own world, leaving his classmates and teacher behind as he glided through the notes.

He also liked going to the music room after school to listen to the song that his deceased mother left him. The room would be empty after the last class, and no one would be there to bother him.

No one would see the usually relaxed and confident fifth grader silently cry as he listened to his mother's voice.

When the bell rang, Ren sighed and grabbed his bag, ignoring the flock of girls who stood nearby to fawn over him. He strode out of the room and followed the flow of students heading for the front gates. Once outside, he leaned against one of the gates with his arms crossed. Other elementary school kids walked past him, greeting the parents who had come to pick up their children. But there was no one waiting for the orange-haired boy.

"Ren."

The boy turned to see a navy-haired third grader standing next to him and holding a CD. Ren smiled lazily at the boy, "Yo, Icchi."

Ichinose Tokiya held the CD out to him. "Here's the CD you wanted to borrow. Take good care of it."

"Gotcha. I'll give it back as soon as I finish listening to it." Ren placed the CD carefully in his bag. As he straightened up, he noticed someone staring in their direction. A red-haired child was standing near the front doors of the school, his gaze fixed on the oblivious Tokiya, who was wondering why the orange-haired boy was suddenly smirking to himself.

As Ren watched, Hayato appeared behind the redhead, surprising the latter. Tokiya's twin said something to the kid and brought him over to where Tokiya and Ren stood.

"Tokiya, Ren, this is Ittoki Otoya!" Hayato chirped. He turned to the redhead. "Otoya, this is my brother Tokiya and our friend Jinguuji Ren."

"Nice ta meet ya, Ikki." Ren waved, still smirking. ' _So this kid seems to have some puppy love for Icchi, huh? He's pretty obvious...Icchi definitely knows that something's up.'_

Ren lost interest in the conversation after that. He was aware of Hayato talking to Otoya, and also noticed Tokiya watching the redhead. He observed the group for a bit, watching and learning as Otoya's babysitter came to pick up the redhead. After the redhead had scampered off with a blush on his face, Ren said goodbye to the twins as well and headed back into the school, walking towards the music room.

' _Seems like Ikki and Icchi both like each other, but neither one knows their own feelings or the feelings of the other person. How troublesome_.' Ah, well. It wasn't really his business after all. The only thing he really cared about was his music.

As Ren arrived on the second floor of the building, his ears picked up the sound of a piano. The only pianos that the school had were in the music room. Was there someone else using the music room right now? He didn't want to have to find a different room, but he didn't want to share a room with someone else either.

He slowly walked forward until he could peer into the music room through the small window on the door. Sure enough, there was someone sitting in front of the piano, skillfully pressing the keys down in various chords and arpeggios. Judging by what Ren could see, the piano player was a student, possibly a few years younger than him due to the small stature on the piano bench. Unfortunately, the built-in music stand blocked the student's face from view.

Ren thought that the person was probably a girl. Most of the piano players that he knew were female, and the player's figure seemed very girlish to him.

What really caught Ren's attention was the music. It was a tune composed of simple scales, arpeggios, and chords. The notes were short and clean, reminding Ren of a ball bouncing down a set of stairs.

It was actually very soothing.

If it was someone else using the music room, Ren would have just gone to a different room to listen to the song his mother left him. However, this music kept him rooted to the spot. He wanted to hear more and more. It was strange. Just a simple, beginner's song could make him just want to sit there forever.

Before he knew it, Ren was leaning against the door with his eyes closed, focusing entirely on the notes from the piano. The bouncy melody made him feel light, something he hadn't felt in a long time. He gradually lost track of time as he allowed himself to bathe in the music.

All of sudden, Ren noticed that the music stopped and the room was quiet. He leaned over and looked through the window to see the girl picking up her bag. _'Oh, crap!'_ Ren quickly withdrew his head and looked around for a place to hide. ' _It'll be awkward if she finds out that I was hiding here and listening to her play. It's too creepy!'_

He dashed around the corner and held his breath, hoping that the pianist wouldn't come this way. Ice blue eyes cautiously peeked out at the music room and watched as the student left the room. For a moment, the student's face was angled so that Ren managed to catch a glimpse.

The orange-haired boy paled slightly. _'You're kidding me. It's a boy? I thought that he was girl for sure since he looked so skinny!'_ Ren was seriously questioning everything he thought he had figured out. Boys were supposed to be slightly tanned and tough, not slender and pale. Or at least that's what Ren thought.

Ren broke out of his thoughts when he noticed that the pianist had disappeared down the stairs. As quickly and quietly as possible, he followed after the other boy, careful not to let his shoes squeak on the tiled floor.

He watched as the boy walked out the front doors and was greeted by an old man, who bowed and held open the door of the waiting car. The pianist nodded and got into the car. The old man, who Ren assumed was the boy's butler, shut the door and got into the driver's seat. The car let out a low rumble and headed down the street, disappearing around the corner.

Ren wanted to slap himself once he realized what just happened. He buried his face in his hands to hide his embarrassment. _'I just stalked a rich kid that I saw in the music room.'_ He was acting like the red-haired boy that he had just met not too long ago.

"I blame you for this, Ikki."


	5. The Story of Jinguuji Ren II

**Back with another Ren chapter! After this, we'll be switching back to Otoya for a bit. For now, enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

 **The Story of Jinguuji Ren II**

Ren let out a noisy sigh of disappointment as he surveyed the empty music room.

For the past couple of days, he had been hurrying to the music room right after school ended, hoping to catch the blue-haired boy again. So far, the student had been in the room playing the piano every time Ren arrived. The fifth grader would sit in the empty classroom next door and listen to the music through the wall. Even during school hours, Ren's mind was preoccupied with the anticipation of seeing the mysterious pianist after school. In fact, he hadn't even remembered to listen to his mother's song in a week.

But today, the boy wasn't there. The piano remained silent and untouched.

Ren pulled a chair over to the side of the room and pulled out the music recorder with his mother's song. He plugged his earphones into the device, placed the plugs in his ears, and hit play.

…..

The next day...

Ren quickly made his way to where the third graders usually had their classes, a book clutched in his hands. He knew that Hayato would still be around since the bell had rung not too long ago. The more sociable Ichinose twin always stayed back for a bit to say goodbye to everyone while his little brother went outside to avoid others.

The problem was...Ren didn't know which classroom Hayato would be coming out from.

However, that wasn't really a problem since Hayato found him. "Ren? What are you doing here, nya?" The navy-haired third grader chirped happily from behind Ren.

 _'Oh, good! I can probably make it to the music room on time. I hope he's there this time.'_ Ren turned and held out the book. "Your book, Haya-tan. I came to return it."

"Oh, yeah," Hayato laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "About that, can you return it to the library for me, nya?"

Ren blinked, still holding the book out. "Huh?"

Hayato clapped his hands together in an apology. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry, Ren! Tokiya and I have a chorus meeting right now. I don't have time to run to the library, nya!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Ren agreed hurriedly before the older Ichinose twin could bombard him with apologies, "You owe me one though!"

"Of course, Ren. Thanks, nya!" Hayato shouted as Ren jogged away. _'Please let him be in the music room when I get there!'_ Ren prayed.

As soon as he placed the book in the return bin, Ren turned and dashed out of the library, heading for the nearest flight of stairs up to the second floor. He practically flew up the steps and ran through the halls. He turned the corner and could see the music room at the end of the hall. The fifth grader froze where he stood, listening hard. To his relief, he could hear the piano singing.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Ren crept up to the door and peered in through the window. The blue-haired boy was zipping up his bag, clearly about to leave. A feeling of panic hit Ren and he quickly pulled the door open.

"Wait!"

The boy jumped violently at Ren's sudden outburst and slammed his knee against the piano. Both involuntarily flinched at the loud thunk that echoed around the room, and the blue-haired boy cried out in pain and clutched at the throbbing joint.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked, crouching down next to him with honest concern on his face. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"I'm okay," the boy murmured, glancing up at Ren. _'He has violet eyes,_ ' the older boy noticed.

An awkward silence passed between the two. The young pianist shyly stared at the ground with his hands clenched nervously in his lap. Ren noticed that his figure looked rather fragile, just like a girl's. It really hadn't been the fifth grader's fault when he mistook the blue-haired boy for a girl.

The quiet was becoming unbearable. Normally, Ren would have found a new topic to talk about, but his social skills had deserted him the moment he entered the room. Instead, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Your music is cool!"

He mentally smacked himself. _'That's the only thing I could say? Seriously?'_ He was Jinguuji Ren; he should be able to say something better than that! "What I mean is, you're really good at playing piano. It sounds really nice." Well, that was just a bit better but at least he didn't stutter or anything.

"...Thank you."

Ren lifted his eyes to the other party's face, feeling more encouraged to speak when he saw the tiny, pleased smile and the tint of red that were creeping across the pale face. "How long have you been playing?" he asked, shifting into a more comfortable sitting position, "Do you practice here every day?"

The pianist hesitated for a bit, and for a moment, Ren worried that he had pushed too quickly. However, those concerns abated when the student replied, "I started playing a few years ago, and I come here every day after school to practice."

"Really? That's cool!" Ren really hadn't been expecting to hear that the boy had been playing for years, but he still found it impressive. "I play the saxophone, but I just started that last year." _'The same year I started listening to the song from my mother,'_ he added silently.

"Saxophone?"

"Yeah!" There weren't any saxophones in the room, so Ren did his best to describe the instrument. "It's usually yellow, and it's pretty big. There are buttons that you press down on to change the pitch of the note you're playing, and you blow air into one end to produce the note."

He paused in his explanation when he noticed that the other wasn't staring at the floor anymore. _'Finally, he's looking me in the eye,'_ he thought with satisfaction.

The two of them continued to talk for another few minutes. The nervous tension between them slowly disappeared and soon, they were having a pretty comfortable conversation, sitting with their backs to the wall.

When the blue-haired boy noticed how long he had stayed, he jumped up and grabbed his bag. "I have to go," he said hurriedly, "My butler is probably waiting for me."

Oh, yeah. This guy came from a wealthy family, just like Ren. "Okay." The fifth grader stood up as well, trying not to let his disappointment into his voice, "I'll see you tomorrow then." He suddenly remembered something and quickly called after the other. "I'm Ren. You're…?"

"...Masato."

Ren smiled and waved. "See you later, Masato."

The fourth grader nodded and left. Ren leaned against the piano, smirking to himself as he repeated the pianist's name to himself in his head. He tapped a finger lightly against his chin, immersed in his thoughts. After a while, he snapped his fingers triumphantly.

 _'I'll call him Masayan!'_


	6. The Story of Ittoki Otoya IV

**Otoyan's back~! I'm glad I managed to finish this before school started or I would have never gotten this done. Hopefully, I'll some time to keep working on this story during the school year. If not, then I guess I'll only be able to update once in a while. *sob***

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **The Story of Ittoki Otoya IV**

Otoya sat restlessly on his seat in the cafeteria, nibbling on the onigiri that his mom had packed for him the night before. Tokiya and Hayato sat on either sides of him, quietly eating their own lunches. The redhead kept glancing around at the other students walking past their lunch table. Tokiya and Hayato had told him that there were two more people in their circle of friends that he hadn't met yet, and that they would usually join the twins during lunchtime. Therefore, the little second grader was apprehensively scanning the room for two people heading towards the table.

Hayato looked up from his food to see Otoya looking around nervously. "Are you scared, Otoya?" he questioned innocently. Tokiya glanced up as well.

"N-No!" Otoya denied vehemently. "I was just wondering what kind of people they are."

Suddenly, there was a loud gasp from behind the three of them. They turned to see a tall boy with golden hair and glasses staring at Otoya with his hands clasped together in front of his chest. Behind him was a much shorter boy with pale blond hair. The shorter one watched the taller one warily while the latter looked at Otoya adoringly.

The second grader met his gaze nervously. "C-Can I help you…?"

Right after he finished speaking, Otoya found himself being slowly crushed by a pair of arms. He gasped and tried to pull away, squeezing the onigiri in his hand so hard that the filling leaked out. "Help," the redhead croaked, struggling to free himself from the suffocating hug.

"You're so cute!" the tall boy squealed, squeezing Otoya even tighter.

"Oi, Natsuki! You're crushing him. Let go before he passes out!" the shorter blond shouted, pulling on the back of the other's shirt while the twins pried Natsuki's arms off Otoya. The redhead sucked in a large breath as soon as the pressure around his chest disappeared, rubbing at his ribs to soothe the ache.

"Are you okay, Otoya?" Tokiya asked, giving the redhead a napkin to wipe away the smooshed onigiri.

"What happened, Ikki?" Ren walked up to the table with his usual lazy smirk. A blue-haired boy was following him, approaching the table rather cautiously. "Did Shinomii get to you?" The fifth grader asked humorously.

"These two are Shinomiya Natsuki and Kurusu Syo," Tokiya explained, gesturing to the two. Natsuki was now hugging Syo, who was wriggling in his grasp while shouting at the taller boy.

"Nice to meet you, Otoya-kun," Natsuki smiled at the redhead as Syo finally slipped from his grasp. "I'm sorry for hugging you so hard, but you were just too cute! Well, Tokiya did say that you would be, but…"

"Shinomiya-san!" Tokiya hissed, shooting the taller male a dangerous look. Hayato snickered quietly as Otoya looked at Tokiya in surprise.

"You told them about me?" The redhead was happy that Tokiya liked him enough to tell other people about him, even though the navy-haired boy always seemed a little reserved.

"Yeah," Tokiya muttered. He glanced at the blue-haired boy, who was still standing uncertainly next to Ren. "Ren, who is this?"

"This is Masato." Ren patted the boy's shoulder. "I met him in the music room a couple of days ago."

Masato briefly bowed his head to them. "Nice to meet you," he murmured softly. Natsuki decided to give him a bear hug as well, startling him and causing Ren to try and convince the golden-haired fifth grader to let go.

Once everyone settled down, the group of seven sat down to finish lunch. As everyone was finishing up their food, Tokiya poked Otoya's arm and asked, "Where's your jacket?"

"Huh?" Otoya looked down at his seat and paled. He had been wearing a red jacket this morning when he came to school. He remembered taking it off for gym class, but he must have left it in the gym since he had been so nervous and excited to meet everyone else. "Ah, I forgot it in the gym!"

Hayato glanced at the clock. "We still have some time before lunch ends, nya. We can go get it."

The group of seven agreed. They packed up and headed for the gym, talking and laughing at Ren teasing Syo. Otoya decided to call Natsuki "Nacchan" and Masato "Masa". The latter didn't particularly care, but Natsuki looked as though he wanted to hug the redhead again. Luckily, Tokiya decided to step between the two.

They finally arrived at the gym, and Otoya pulled the door open, expecting to see his jacket draped on the bench closest to the door. However, there was nothing there. He glanced at the other benches, in case his memory was faulty, but his red jacket was nowhere to be seen.

"Eh? Where did it go?"

"Are you sure you left it here?" Tokiya asked, scanning the room.

"I'm sure!" Otoya said frantically, looking around the gym in case his jacket had been moved. "Maybe the teacher took it?"

The group shuffled to the teacher's office. The teacher apologized and said that she hadn't seen any red jackets after the last class had ended, but she promised that she would keep an eye out for it. Otoya thanked her and the group left.

The redhead sighed disappointedly once the teacher was gone. "If someone else took it, I don't know if I'll ever get it back."

"Can't you get another one?" Ren suggested, "Red jackets are pretty common in clothing stores."

"I don't really want another one," Otoya murmured, "My mom gave that to me before she...left."

There was a brief silence before Natsuki piped up, "Then we'll help you find it, Otoya-kun. We can ask other students to look for it as well."

"That's right!" Syo grinned, "We have some friends outside of this group, so we can ask them to help find it."

A familiar voice suddenly rang out from down the hall. "Oh? Did you lose something, Ittoki?"

The redhead turned to see Eiichi, Nagi, and the black-haired boy walking towards them. Eiichi smirked unpleasantly as he held up a red jacket. "It wouldn't happen to be this jacket, would it?"

"Where…?"

"It was just lying on a bench in the gym," Eiichi cut off Otoya's question, "I was going to put it in the lost and found. Then, I heard that you were looking for a red jacket, and I knew that I had to return it personally."

"What's the catch?" Tokiya asked, his voice cold and hard as he glared at Eiichi.

Nagi picked at a nail boredly, not bothering to look up from his task when he spoke. "Who knows? I guess it depends on our mood."

"You jerks!" Syo lunged forward, but Natsuki grabbed him around the waist and held him back.

"Don't, Syo-chan! You'll just get in trouble."

Nagi sneered. "Better watch it, shorty. You're not cute at all."

Eiichi tossed the jacket behind him, and the black-haired boy caught it. "Kira, it's your call. Do whatever you want with that thing," the brown-haired leader ordered.

The black-haired boy, Kira, looked at the piece of clothing in his hands and glanced up to meet Otoya's gaze. The redhead tried to put on a brave face, but was silently pleading with the other. The two of them held their gazes for a moment, but then Kira turned and walked away, still carrying Otoya's jacket.

Eiichi smiled triumphantly. "You'll get your jacket back soon, Ittoki. Don't worry." With that, he and Nagi followed Kira, leaving the dejected second grader behind.

Natsuki placed a comforting hand on Otoya's shoulder. "It'll be okay, Otoya-kun. We'll find a way to get Kira to return your jacket."

"Yeah, leave it to us!" Syo declared.

With his friends' reassurances, Otoya didn't feel as upset as he would have. However, he did spend the rest of the day worrying about his jacket. Kira had never said or done anything to him before, so he had no idea what the black-haired boy might do. He didn't cross paths with the other either, so he could only hope that one of the others might see Kira and convince him to hand over the sweater.

School ended, and the seven of them met outside. To everyone's disappointment, no one had been able to find Kira, let alone get the jacket back.

"Sorry, Ikki." Ren shrugged apologetically. "I searched the school, but I didn't see him anywhere." Masato hadn't found anything either, so the two of them left, heading for the music room.

"We didn't see him either," Natsuki sighed, "I'm sorry, Otoya-kun. We really wanted to get your jacket back, but Kira hides pretty well."

"We'll keep looking tomorrow. Hopefully, he won't do anything yet," Syo said, trying to cheer Otoya up.

"Thanks for trying, guys. I'm really glad." Otoya smiled slightly and waved goodbye as Natsuki and Syo left. When those two were gone, Otoya's face fell and he sighed, turning to face the Ichinose brothers, who watched him regretfully.

"Well, I guess I'll have to go without the jacket." Otoya shrugged resignedly and turned to leave. Suddenly, a voice called out to him.

"Ittoki Otoya."

Otoya paused and looked around, but nobody except the twins was paying attention to him, and they never called him by his full name.

"Up here."

The redhead looked up and saw Kira leaning out of a window on the second floor. The stoic boy held up Otoya's red jacket questioningly. "Can you catch?"

Otoya blinked. "Eh?"

Kira tossed the jacket to Otoya, who quickly reached out and caught it before it hit the ground. To the redhead's surprise, his jacket was in the same condition as before. Kira hadn't done anything to it.

"Take better care of your things," Kira called down, "And you should stand up to Eiichi and Nagi. It'll help get them off your back." With that, the black-haired boy nodded to them and disappeared.

"Well, you got your jacket back, Otoya!" Hayato grinned.

"Y-Yeah." Otoya clutched the jacket closer and smiled slightly. Hopefully, he would get a chance to thank Kira later. He knew he would be seeing him again in the future.


End file.
